Chapter 162: Ancient Gate
Chapter 162 Ancient Gate
Groundwater leaked down from the ceiling, accumulating for who knows how long, creating a wide stream on the floor .
At first, I was anxious that wed encounter monsters within . But there was no sign of anyone else inside . Just the sounds of dripping and flowing water .
I recalled what Eris had told me earlier .
That people with Mortal Sin skills were born due to the accumulated hatred of the people .
Comparing that to my old behaviour and mindset . Suffice to say that I was surprised .
From time to time, there was always this feeling of darkness slowly creeping into my heart . It was the worst when I fought Rafal at the capital . Whenever I hid myself behind that skull mask, I felt like theres another me moving to the surface .
Having the intention to kill that Lanchester dude in the throne room . Moreover, during that incident in the military district, letting that guard die in the same way he killed others . I strangely didnt feel any guilt back then .
I knew that its a bad thing . But the restraint would still come off when I felt pressured . Sometimes my emotions would explode uncontrollably .
But thanks to Roxy, I was able to get past all that . Evidently, I never wore that skull mask anymore .
While I was deep in my own thought, Greed spoke to me through Mind Reading .
At that time, you were under the Gluttony skills influence . You couldnt even hear my voice back then .
[My badI was horrible]
Its the path that every Mortal Sin skill holder will inevitably trudge on . All you can do, is to experience it yourself and overcome it . It will be all over if you fail, but I believe that Fate will be just fine .
[He~, youre actually encouraging me today]
You are the wielder of this me . I have the obligation to do that much .
I was in a good mood after Greed praised me . But of course he followed up with his usual barbs .
[Still, thank you . Then, is there anything else you need to tell me?]
How could you tell?
[How long do you think Ive put up with you?]
Hahaha, certainly . Thinking about it, we spent more time together than you with Roxy .
After that light hearted exchanges, Greed switched back to a serious tone .
There is one thing I found strange .
[ . . what is it?]
Your impulse . Its not solely coming from the Gluttony skill influence .
[What do you mean by that?]
Its just the intuition of this me . Why? Because you are different from my previous wielder . In your case . .
The sound of Eris and Roxys gasps cut off Greed before he could finish .
Apparently I wasnt paying attention to my surroundings during our conversation .
When I looked in the direction of their gaze, there was a gate that was even larger than the outer gate of the Royal Capital .
[This gatelooks sturdy . ]
I thought to cut it open, but Greed warned me to not do so .
And I think, Ive seen this kind of metal before .
[This is adamantite . The sturdiest metal known in the world, which is also used to reinforce the outer wall of the fortress city Babylon . ]
[Its exactly as Roxy said . Even Mortal Sin weapons couldnt destroy this easily . Unless Fate is a master swordsman, I dont think you need to even bother trying . ]
Eris threw a grin at me as she glanced sideways .
[Okay, okay, I admit that Im not on that level yet . What about you, Eris?]
[Im a support type combatant . There is no way I can do that . ]
[Whats the point of that blade on the black bayonet then? It must be crying over its wielder incompetence by now . ]
[You do know that I can say the same words right back at you, right?]
[ . . right . ]
I couldnt refute her .
I had been taught swordsmanship by Aaron, and also received Greeds guidance in the spiritual world .
But my level of proficiency still couldnt compare to either of them .
Not going to let me sulk over that, Roxy made a follow up .
[Fai is the type to brute force through everything though]
[ . . thank you . ]
[Well, that is certainly true . I thought that it would be impossible for him to defeat the Tenryu . But Fai is the type to evolve during the heat of battle . I actually look forward to it . ]
[Stop! I dont wanna fight that kind of battle again . ]
[But the result is the current you, who is standing here with us . ]
Were about to head to a mysterious place heretelling something ominous like that . Oh dearI have a bad feeling already .
Still, how do we open this gate?
Eris tried to push it open, but it didnt budge .
[Fuu~, this is not good as well . ]
[It is too early to give up!]
[Because its me who tried it, of course it failed . Right, Roxy?]
[I guess so If Eris-sama could not do anything about it, then it is obviously impossible for me]
Roxy seemed troubled by this .
After telling her not to worry too much about it, I took another look at the gate .
[Did Snow really go through here?]
[Perhaps . Shes a Divine Beastkin, so she probably has some sort of special ability . ]
[Special, huh]
My hand inadvertently pushed open the gate .
[Eh!?]
[No way But how?]
[Fai!?]
Both Eris and Roxy were surprised .
I was also stunned . But inwardly I knew . that this had something to do with Dad .
[So I also have the qualification]
[Now that I recall, your dad was a Zodiac Knight, wasnt he?]
[Yeah, Libra said so . And from my Dads action back in the desert, I guess he really was . ]
[I see So you are a half blood]
Eris flattened at first, but quickly smiled back .
Libra had left behind a major trauma in her . As a result, I guess she carried similar hatred toward the other Zodiac knights .
But she seemed okay with me judging from her current expression .
[Thanks to Snow, Ive come to terms with it somewhat . And see, I could stick to Fate like I always do . ]
[Oi . ]
[Now now . ]
Eris latched herself to me in a hug .
Now I had a feeling that she does this all the time to help overcome her trauma of the Zodiac knights .
[Youre hugging too tight]
[Nah nah, perhaps I do, but I feel good by doing this . ]
I tried to peel away Eris from me to no avail .
[Dont use Area E power for something like this]
[Its part of the preparation]
[There is no such thing as this!]
Eris kept hugging me tightly .
While I was at loss for what to do, I sensed a cold gaze coming from behind .
When I turned around, I was reminded . Wasnt Roxy in here watching us all the time!?
[You two really get along, are you not?]
[No, no, no matter how you look at it, thats not the case!]
[Then why is Eris-sama grinning so widely there?]
[Eris please say something!]
[This is trauma treatment, so dont worry about it . I have no other intention . Rest assured . ]
But Roxy wouldnt buy any of that .
She then started to recount what Eris had done so far .
Sleeping naked in the same bed, went into the mens bath Could that be considered as trauma treatment?
Un, its not convincing at all .
[Can I ask you one thing?]
[What is it?]
[How are you feeling right now?]
[The best!!]
The kindhearted and gentle Roxy .
Even now she still had a smile on her face
Did my eyes deceive me?
I swore that I could see a creature resembling Tenryu dancing behind her .
A tremendous pressure that I had never felt before .
This is likewhen I need to run away from Aaron!
When in a situation like this, there is only one thing I can do .
[Yosh, anyway, the gate is open now . Lets move on . ]
[Ah, Fai, hold it right there!]
[Cant hear you . ]
[You definitely can hear me! And why is Eris-sama still hugging Fai like that? Please let go!]
In any case, we proceeded onward .